Second Best
by Fragile-Strength
Summary: It was a little shocking – Noah, with emotions?


_This was written agesss ago, before the actual Finn finding out about Puck/Quinn occurred, but obviously it was post-Puck/Rachel. =) Enjoy!_

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* * *

Let him know that you know best,  
__'Cause after all you do know best,  
__Try to slip past his defense,  
__Without granting innocence.  
__-How to Save a Life, The Fray_

There was many things Rachel Berry was - organized was just one of them. Specifically, she made lists, and lots of them. To do lists, and to don't lists. Bucket lists and shopping lists. Accomplishments lists and lists of failures. So as Rachel rang the doorbell to Noah Puckerman's house armed only with a plate of "Are You Okay?" cookies and a smile, she was thinking about how she should add this to the the list of "Things I Never Should Have Done'" the instant she got home. Of course, if Noah had a list similar to her's, he would be making quite a few additions to his for today as well.

The day had started out simplistically enough. Rachel and Puck ignored each other in the awkward post break-up stage (although Rachel imaged Puck had simply reverted back to old habits), Rachel and Finn ignored each other (just because he was back didn't mean she was going to let him off easy on the whole abandonment thing) and several not so pleasant slushie baths (but none from either of the above). Glee practice, normally the shining beacon at the end of the tunnel that was Rachel's school day, brought the biggest horrors of all. Apparently, Santana chose this particular Thursday to not only grow a back bone, but get ticked off at Quinn as well, and she told Mercedes, during a break, who was really the father of Quinn's baby. Who told Tina. Who told Artie. Who told Kurt – who gasped and then announced it loudly to the entire room.

The next thing Rachel knew, Finn was on top of Puck, Quinn had run wailing from the room followed by Mr. Schuester, and Santana was crying. Due to the fact that Puck was lying curiously still and everyone was simply watching with what could possibly be construed as a bit of joy on their faces, there was soon blood on Finn's knuckles which, combined with his back, was really all Rachel could see. As soon as she gathered her wits about her, though, Rachel was on Finn's back, grabbing and clawing and trying to pull him off. It didn't matter what Puck did, Finn was about three times the size of him and-

"Hello?"

Jerked out of her reverie, Rachel slapped her smile on and wondered how the mousy woman in front of her could possibly have given birth to Puck. "Hello! Mrs. Puckerman, I presume? My name is Rachel Berry, and I was wondering if I could see your son for a moment? I assure you, my interests are platonic at best," Rachel explained, displaying the cookies for the woman to asses, but quickly noticed that the woman's eyes had locked on her chest. Self consciously, Rachel glanced down; nothing out of the ordinary – just her regular flawless skin and a Star of David. She glanced back up just in time to see a smile span the woman's face – Puck was much easier to see in her when she smiled. "Of course! Up the stairs, second door on the left. Enjoy yourself!" With that and an over exaggerated wink, Mrs. Puckerman ushered Rachel in, closed and locked the door behind her, and scampered off in the opposite direction of the stairs.

After Rachel finished gaping (which actually was a fair amount of time), she shook it off, re-plastered her trademark smile and walked briskly up the stairs. Counting the doors was necessary – although Rachel had expected caution tape and blinking lights, Puck's bedroom door looked fairly common, just a plain wooden door. Taking a deep breath and running a hand through her hair, she stuck her chin up into the air and gave the door three, sharp knocks.

"Mom!" a muffled voice fame from the room. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it!"

"It's Rachel, Noah," she said softly. "Rachel Berry," she added as an after-thought, afraid he wouldn't know. For a moment there was silence, a thud and then footsteps. Next thing she knew, the door was thrown open, and Puck, wearing nothing but a pair of royal blue boxers, was frowning down at her.

He looked even worse now then he had when Rachel had pulled Finn off of him. His left eye had turned a fantastic shade of purple, and was well on it's way to midnight black. His right cheek was split and swollen, as was his lip. His nose was crooked, and there was a bloody spot on his right temple.

"I, hello, Puck. I just thought that perhaps I should come and check on you and offer you some... Would you like some cookies?"

She winced when Puck tried to raise his eyebrow, but couldn't. "Cookies, Berry? Honestly?"

"They're snickerdoodles!" Rachel added hopefully.

Grudgingly, Puck took the "U" cookie, and stepped out of the doorway. "Come in?" he asked through a mouthful of cookie.

She hesitantly stepped in, on guard for land mines and the like, and was surprised to find that his room was as normal as his door. There was a small desk, a threadbare twin sized bed with what looked like a quilt that could have been made by a grandmother or another equally old female relative, and a lemon yellow dresser. It was one of the brightest things she'd ever seen, and she gaped openly at it for perhaps a little too long.

"Oh!" she started when he cleared his throat. "I – hi. How are you? A-wait, no. That's a really moronic question, isn't it? I'm sorry, I'm sure you're not doing well at all. Actually, you look like hell – oh, jeez!" Did she really just say that? Honestly! "I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. I can't believe I just said that! I'm so, so sorry..." She took a deep, calming breath. "About everything. You didn't – well, no, you did deserve what happened to you today. But I'm still sorry it had to happen."

Several long, uncomfortable moments passed while Puck glared her down with arms crossed and Rachel stared like a deer in the headlights. Eventually, it occurred to her that she hadn't actually given him anything to respond to. So she cleared her throat, and started in again. "Which is to say, I just wanted you to know that if you need help, or want to talk, I'm here and...support you."

Well, that much was debatable. If she was honest, she found the whole scandal just as shocking as anyone else. Rachel knew that Puck got around, and she _certainly _knew (first hand, nonetheless), his irresistible charm, but not only could she not understand Quinn's lack of loyalty, Puck's was just as unfathomable. If you asked Rachel, anyone who had Finn was lucky to have him, and should be doing anything in her power to keep him. And Puck and Finn had always seemed – to use the words of her peers - "tight!". Despite Puck's predatory ways, it seemed entirely out of character for Puck to prey on Finn's territory.

Of course, Rachel's feelings towards Puck and Quinn had rapidly declined after the news came out, but, if she was honest (which she always was – lying is so unbecoming) Finn's behavior was _entirely _unnecessary and over the top. Frankly, it suggested that Puck was entirely to blame, and of all the nasty things Rachel thought about Puck, she didn't think for a minute that he would force any woman (cougar or cub) to do anything they didn't want.

And besides, Quinn and Finn wouldn't return her calls, and Kurt just so _happened _to know where Puck lived. And also, strangely enough, Puck hadn't gotten to throw any punches. Not to mention that although clearly she _loved _Finn, she was _in love _with N- Wait, what? Desperate for a distraction, Rachel latched on to the sound of Puck's voice.

"...don't need your support. The _last _thing I need is your help or support." He crossed his arms over his chest, and frowned down at the comparatively miniaturized form of Rachel.

"Well, Noah, to be reasonable, you're facing quite a challenge, what with having a child in high school, and clearly you're struggling with taking responsibility, if Quinn is pushing you away, an-"

Very suddenly, the cookies were on the floor, her back was against the wall, Puck's hands were on either side of her head, and his figure was hulking over her.

"Don't you _ever _even _think _anything like that _ever _again, Rachel. I swear to fucking God that I am doing _everything _I can to take care of that baby, and the _only _thing that's stopping me from being there for Quinn and _my _daughter every step of the way is out of respect for Quinn her-fucking-self. You hear me?"

Rachel panted up at him, eyes wide. Her mouth opened, then closed.

"_Do you understand me?"_

"I...I'm quite sure you'd make a wonderful father, Noah. Honestly. You are..." she faltered, very suddenly realizing that Noah was pressed _very _closely against her. "You are an amazing, surprising, dedicated man, and you will be a wonderful father."

For a moment, Rachel was afraid that he was going to hit her; he had hauled back one open hand, but he appeared to be drooping, and she was astounded to realize that his bottom lip was quivering.

Suddenly, he collapsed. Fruitlessly, she tried to catch him, but they both slid to the floor, Puck's head in the crook of her neck and his tears dripping down her chest, his hands around her waist and her's clasped feebly around his back.

They lay there, tangled on the floor, Puck sobbing into her neck for what seemed to Rachel an immeasurable amount of time. But she didn't begrudge him an instant of it, and merely found herself instinctively pressing her lips to the top of his head over and over again. She thought to tell him it was all going to be alright, or something similarly reassuring before it occurred to her, with a start, that words actually weren't needed.

Eventually, he seemed to cry himself out and, after another few minutes, the shaking subsided as well and she was left with him breathing evenly.

"Sorry," he somberly told her shoulder.

"S'okay," she replied to the top of his head. "Clearly you needed it, Noah, and I'm happy to provide the..." she winced at the cliché, "well, proverbial shoulder to cry on any time you want it." When he pulled back to look her in the eye, Rachel was surprised to see that his cheeks were thoroughly flushed. She was once again startled, as well, by the horrible state of his face.

"Thank you," Puck said slowly as Rachel found herself studying his split lip. "I...you didn't need to get yourself involved in this. Today at school, _or _now, and I guess I owe you for doing it anyway."

Rachel just took a deep breath through her nose. "Come on," she said softly. "Let's get you cleaned up."

She grabbed his elbow and he her's, and she hefted him to his feet. "It's in the hall; the bathroom, that is. So is Deb." Rachel looked up at him questioningly, trying to ignore the fact that he had slipped his arm around her waist for his sake. "Deb's my sister," Noah explained, pulling her a little closer. "So we gotta be quiet." He frowned at Rachel, as though wondering whether she could stay quiet that long, and Rachel just nodded enthusiastically to prove she could. He smiled widely, and as Rachel stared up at him, she could _almost _forget that he was the father of Quinn's baby, that his eye was black and that they were probably the worst potential couple ever. He leaned down to impulsively press a kiss to her forehead, before turning to open his door. Maybe it would work out after all.

Rachel followed Puck down the dark hall, her hand trapped in his (when had that happened?), and an idiotic smile on her face. He opened the door directly across from one covered in flowers, and herded her in ahead of him into the dark room. He turned into her to try and pull the door closed, but the bathroom was so cramped that she nearly fell backwards into the bathtub. With the faintest of squeals, she clasped her arms around his neck and clung to his back in a fashion that one would expect from a monkey. He chuckled dryly, and backed up enough to get the door closed.

"Baby, Finn probably cracked my ribs. You might wanna-"

"Oh, oh, sorry," Rachel murmured, quickly letting go.

She felt him turn from the door towards her, and although she can feel his chest pressed against her's and his face must be only inches away she couldn't even see his silouhette. The entire room was pitch black, and so she's surprised when he suddenly starts speaking; gravelly, and so quietly she had to hold her breath to hear him.

"Rachel, I'm so fucking scared. I want to be a good daddy to my baby, to my...to my daughter, but I don't want to be a daddy at all. I want to be a dumb teenager, who plays football and fucks moms and cleans pools and sings and dances with a bunch of losers and my Spanish teacher. And Quinn...Quinn doesn't want any of this either, she just wants to be a chick and...you know, do chick things. But we fucked up, and we're going to have a fucking baby! And I want to step up to this, step up to what I've done and do whatever I can to take care of that baby_ and _Quinn! But she thinks Saint Finn is a fucking...a fucking..._saint _or something, and won't let me help a damn bit. And Finn isn't doing any damn thing to help her, either!" And he embraced her, then, one arm around the small of her back and the palm of his other hand pressing the side of her head into his chest. "But even so, I don't want to spend the rest of my life with Quinn. She's hot, sure, but she's a bitch. I don't...love her. I don't..."

Rachel had no warning when he kissed her; he just gently tugged her face up by her hair and kissed her. Gingerly, carefully, but she could feel his lip reopen and the irony taste of his blood in her mouth.

"Rachel, I...Words aren't really my thing. I usually..show people what I think, you know? But I guess that's not gonna fly with you, is it?"

Rachel was so...well, suffice to say she was confused. This wasn't the Noah she knew. The Noah she knew was harsh, and callous and untouchable. He was fearless and easy-going and unbelievably beautiful. He was a gifted performer and sweet and capable of most everything. And no matter how predictable he seemed, she always managed to surprise her.

"No," she said quietly. "I suppose it won't."

"Rachel," he ventured, tucking her once more against his chest. "I'm not gonna say I love you. I don't. If I do, I don't recognize it well enough to tell you. But there's something. And it's not just that you're a hot Jew, either. I mean, Quinn and I fucked and I like you better-" Rachel winced "-sorry, but that's gotta count for something. My point is that you really shouldn't have dumped me. 'Cause I think we could be something...interesting, you know. Except now Quinn's got my baby and everyone knows it, but she still only wants Finn in her life, and...everybody's gonna think I'm even more of a douche then I actually am. Which is saying something for me. And you probably don't..." he trailed off.

Rachel was taking all of this in completely seriously. It was a little shocking – Noah, with emotions? But she wasn't about to turn him down. From Finn's reaction to the news, he clearly believed that Puck was entirely to blame, and was now even more Quinn's than he was when he thought the baby was his.

And to be perfectly honest, going out with Noah hadn't been exactly horrible. She'd always fancied him in the passive sort of way one crushes on movie stars, so it had been a nice adventure. And she wasn't _settling, _per se, just going for second best. One day, maybe she could even grow to love second best. In the mean time, it wouldn't hurt to have somebody to stand by...and to stand by her.

"Well, you...don't want to be tied down to that."

"Says who?"

There was dead silence for at least a minute. Eventually, at a loss, Noah whispered, "says me?"

"Well, you've been wrong before."

He was kissing her again, and her mouth was flooded with blood; she pulled back and sighed.

"Do you, uh, have a light in this bathroom?"

Noah fumbled for a moment, then flicked a light switch that was somewhere by his left shoulder blade. Light flooded to the room, and Rachel squeaked and quickly shaded her eyes. "Shit, that's bright," Noah growled, and Rachel let out a nervous giggle. She heard a low chuckle, and then the next thing she knew, his arms were tight around her waist, and she was bent backwards as his mouth found her's again. She risked taking her hands from her eyes, and inched them up to his shoulders. He sucked gently at her bottom lip, but when she was once more in danger of swallowing a mouthful of his blood, she pulled away, leaned over the sink, and spit it out.

Noah made a face. "Sorry, babe."

Rachel smiled wearily. "It's okay. Actually, I think it's all gonna turn out okay."


End file.
